Poland’s 2019 justice reform breaks EU law

A reform of Poland’s justice system, introduced by the nationalist populist government in 2019 and the subject of a row between Warsaw and Brussels, violates EU law, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Monday (June 5).

And this, especially in the section related to the disciplinary system of judges and their independence, was specified by the court in its decision, which immediately welcomed the European Commission, which took this reform away from it.

“It is an important day for the restoration of an independent judicial system in Poland”The European Commissioner for Justice said. Didier ReyndersHe explained that he was implementing Polish law “Undermining the independence of judges”. “After today’s decision, he will have to adapt in accordance with the law on the judicial system”He added, noting that the court’s decision has been settled “A must read”. He called on the Polish authorities “to fulfill the sentence in full”.

Unfavorable decision for Poland

The Minister of Justice of Poland condemned the unfavorable decision for Poland. “The main court of the European Union is corrupt”, and a ruling condemning Poland for its controversial justice reform “It was not written by judges, but by politicians” in “Breach of Agreements”Zbigniew Ziobro, a spokesman for the openly anti-European party, was quoted as saying by the PAP agency.

In 2021, the court condemned Poland with a fine of one million euros per day to stop the activities of the Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, a key institution in the controversial reform of the Polish judicial system. The amount of these fines has exceeded 550 million euros to date.

Poland always refused to pay these fines, but Brussels received part of them from the funds intended for Poland. The European Court’s decision lifts the financial sanction from June 5, but Poland still has to pay the amounts due for the past.